October 17, 2013

Q.Â Will you look forward to pitching in Game 6 in a tough situation, win or lose tonight?
CLAY BUCHHOLZ:Â Yeah, you know, that goes along with what I said in the past conference, pitching in playoff games is one thing; pitching in deciding playoff games is another.Â And I feel like it's two pretty evenly matched teams as of now.Â They scored some runs yesterday and we're still battling to do that.
But there's nothing but confidence in the group we have in there.Â This game gets started on time tonight, I think everybody is going to try to go out there and get on Anibal a little bit earlier than we did last time.Q.Â John was just in here and he said he felt like you could draw some lessons from Lackey's start.Â I know you're not going to go break it down specifically, but generally speaking is that how you feel?
CLAY BUCHHOLZ:Â Yeah, I told him that in the dugout after Lack came out of the game, because that's one of the reasons Lack is here.Â It's easy to learn from somebody that's been through and experienced it in the past.
Just the way he worked the counts, through ‑‑ was able to get his curveball in for a strike on a consistent basis.Â I didn't throw too many curveballs last time out.Â If you have a feel for that pitch, I think that's a good pitch for the group that's as aggressive as the Tigers are.Â There are multiple things I can do differently, and I definitely want it to go a little bit better.Q.Â When you come off a rough start like that, what is your sort of typical way to review it, is it video or talk to coaches, what do you do to correct that?
CLAY BUCHHOLZ:Â A little of both.Â I felt pretty good in the first five innings, I can take more positive than negative.Â There were a couple of innings I let the ball get out of the zone and they hit it out of the park.Â I need to minimize the damage a little bit better.Â Both video and talking to whoever it is on the staff, you can sort of pick each other's brain and see what I was feeling, what I could have done differently and how to get better from it.Q.Â What kind of advantages or disadvantages do you have, the batters have, and what kind of adjustments do you need to make?
CLAY BUCHHOLZ:Â Yeah, there's quite a few, less for them but more for me.Â Pitching in your division multiple times you could see guys, they know what pitches I throw.Â I know what their hitter's tendencies are, it's all about control command of each pitch.Â And then if that goes well, then being able to put them away in the counts that you need to be able to put them away in.Q.Â There's been so many outstanding starts this series.Â How badly are you wanting to join in all the fun?
CLAY BUCHHOLZ:Â Yeah, you know, it's tough sometimes against, like I say, against the teams that obviously start hitting the ball a little better last night.
But this is what baseball is all about, there's four teams still playing, we're one of them.Â And being put in the situation, losing the first game at home, and being able to come back and get that win in Game 2, it made it a lot less stressful to come out here and play here in their home turf for three games.Â There's a lot that goes into it, but I'm excited to get back out there, and it feels like it's been three weeks since I pitched.Â Doing all the work in between right now, trying to find ways to get better.Q.Â Obviously you guys were all optimistic in the beginning of the year that you could bounce back from last year.Â What were some of the reasons you most felt like you could turn it around?
CLAY BUCHHOLZ:Â The new faces they brought in basically have a whole new staff, too.Â Being able to work with them the first couple of days of Spring Training, know what they're thinking, having a past relationship with John Farrell, made it easier on the guys that were here when he was here.Â The guys that came in, they brought in, came from winning organizations and have won in the past.Â And that's what it takes to be on a winning team is people that know how to feel when it comes around.Â And if you go on a little skid it's not that big of a deal, you've got a game tomorrow or the next day.
It was pretty obvious right from jump street when everybody met in spring, that this team wanted to win.Â We all had the same goals in mind and we gelled pretty well.Q.Â Obviously these games get bigger and bigger as the series go on.Â How much are you looking forward to getting on the mound as the games get bigger and being at Fenway Park and with the home crowd, you know what the atmosphere is going to be like in Game 6?
CLAY BUCHHOLZ:Â Yeah, it's a special place.Â I've always liked pitching there.Â Obviously it's our home field so it's a little bit easier to say that.Â Out of all the parks I've pitched in, Fenway is a different type of place.Â And it's ‑‑ they'll let you know if you don't do the job.Â At the same time, if you do well, the fans there, they know the game and it's just a fun place to pitch.Â But definitely looking forward to getting back out there and giving it another run.Â And hopefully we can take care of business here tonight and then go from there.FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports